Page 134 of Inception

“Come on, angel,” said Dominic when I didn’t move from my seat. “You know very well you aren’t going to let her go off without you.”

He was right. I was here for one reason; to protect Taylor from Dominic, and the only way I could do that was by ignoring every fiber in my body as it screamed for me to save myself and run. I climbed out of the limo, my fists balled up at my sides as I tried to resist the urge to attack him right then and there. What good would it do? He was stronger than me—faster. And I had Taylor to carry. Fighting him would prove futile. I needed another way. I needed to outsmart him somehow.

But first I needed to figure out what he had planned.

“So is this the part where you pretend to be all nice andhumanand then attack us when we least expect it?” I wanted to sound flippant, unafraid of what would come next. All the while, my hands were trembling and the air around me seemed to be thinning, making it harder and harder for me to fill my lungs.

“No, love. We already played that game.” He turned to me with a smirk as we walked through the cemetery gates and trudged towards the old, condemned church. “I’m sure you remember it quite well,” he said, holding the door open for us.

It was sickening the way he took pleasure in other people’s pain. “You’re depraved.”

“Indeed, I am,” he agreed easily. “And I have no qualms about it.” He stopped in the middle of the room and glanced around as though searching for something he’d misplaced.

I shuddered as my eyes moved around the empty space. The altar and church pews were missing, and whatever else remained was either damaged by the rain or covered in black soot, the remnants of a fire that took out the church and half the surrounding cemetery decades ago. Through the shattered windows, I could see the leftover tombstones leering over at us like a corps of spectators, fog swirling around their feet, beckoning us to join them in their final dance.

I shuddered again as the hairs on my body stood tall. “All this because someone dusted your vampire plaything.”

His face hardened. “Watch it, angel.”

I perked up inside knowing I’d hit a nerve. “Well, it’s true, isn’t it? You’re mad at the world because she’s gone and there’s nothing you can do about it, so you use that as an excuse to wreak havoc on everything and everyone around you.”

Anger flooded his expression.

“It’s pathetic if you ask me.”

“No one asked you.” The ice in his voice was unmistakable.

“No one ever does,” I mumbled bitterly. Avoiding eye contact, I tightened my arms across my chest and rubbed them for warmth. “So what’s your plan anyway? To lure my sister and Gabriel here so that you can annoy them with your revenge games?” I needed to keep pushing his buttons.

He clamped a hand around Taylor’s wrist and began towing her away. She followed clumsily behind him.

“They aren’t going to come,” I baited, following him through the dank room. “They have better things to do than play your little high school games.”

“Good.” A dark grin spread over his face. “What I have planned neither requires them nor concerns them.”

Okay, now I was confused. I thought this was about getting revenge on Tessa and Gabriel for vanquishing the Rev he loved. If it wasn’t about that, then what the heck were we doing here?

He came to a stop in front of what looked like an old ministry room. The walls were slick with mold and the stain-glass windows were fogged with a thick veneer of ash and grime. “Do not leave this room,” said Dominic as he shoved Taylor through the threshold and closed the door behind her.

“You’re not leaving her in there!” I tried to get around him but he quickly put his arm out and blocked my path.

“Believe me, angel, she’s far safer in there then she would be out here with us. Now walk,” he ordered. “We have business to tend to.”

I felt a cold rush zip down my spine but I knew he was right. At least she’d be out of his reach. And besides, with his mind control, she was a total liability at this point.

“Fine. Anywhere in particular?” I asked, working hard to keep the fear from showing up in my voice.

“Right there,” he ticked his chin to a lone chair placed near the front of the room. “Sit.”

“I don’tdocommands.”

“And I don’t do petulant children.”

“Well, I don’t do—”

“Sit. Down. Now.”

I flopped down onto the chair with my arms crossed over my chest as I waited for him to make his big reveal.

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